::take out:: Chabaa Thai

Since Wednesday is Comic Book Day, we typically take a trip to the mall. This has a tendency to put a damper on cooking. I did have a meal planned, but I was tired and didn’t feel 100%, and curry seemed like a good addition to the birthday week dinners. Thankfully we discovered Chabaa Thai before even moving back into the city. Now that it is just down the road, we have turned from making it a night out to getting it to go. There was a period of time (when I didn’t cook much), that Chabaa take out was on the menu almost monthly.

The best thing about getting take out from Chabaa has to be the portions. Our favorite dish (and still PTB’s) was the Gaeng Dang (Red Curry). For the longest time, that was all we needed. The take out serving was huge. More than enough for both of us. Unfortunately….one time, there was just to much chili in it. I couldn’t eat it. I tried to suffer through it, and I haven’t been able to go back to it since. PTB doesn’t seem to mind that he now gets it all to himself and has enough for another night.

Lucky for me….there is plenty on their menu to choose from. Penang curry (a personal favorite), Crazy Noodles, Spicy Basil Fried Rice, a plethora of Pad Thai’s, the list goes on and on. I try to change it up every visit… This time I could not decide, so I stuck with two appetizers. To start, the chicken satay, keeping it simple…but man is that peanut sauce good. Even Sammy was intrigued.

Next I had the Sai Grog which is a Thai style sausage. We first had this when it was a special, and I was very excited when they added this to the regular menu. It is served with a sweet chili sauce that balances the flavors in the sausages perfectly!

I can’t say enough great things about Chabaa. It is a tiny BYOB in Manayunk. If you want to go on a weekend, I HIGHLY recommend a reservation. And if you want to go on a weeknight when it is gorgeous out, I also recommend a reservation. If you are not familiar with the Manayunk area of Philadelphia, the warm weather really brings everyone out crowding all the restaurants.

Eating at the restaurant, I would say my favorite thing is to go with friends. It is the kind of restaurant you will want to stay at for hours. It is the kind of menu you will want to try everything on. My favorite times there have been spent with 4 or more people, sharing every dish so that everyone can try everything, and sharing a couple bottles of wine.

Unfortunately, they are not on OpenTable, but check out their menu and give them a call to make a reservation: 215-483-1979